Jewelry having a resiliently biased removable insert



June 19, 1962 P. VAN BUSSEL 3,03

' JEWELRY HAVING A RESILIENTLY BIASED REMOVABLE INSERT Filed Feb. 1, 1960 FIG.2.

INVENTOR.

PETER VAN BUSSEL WW W ATTOfiEYS United tates This invention relates to jewelry having a resiliently biased removable insert.

More particularly, this invention relates to the mounting of stones, facings, inserts, etc., in appropriate supporting frames or equivalent structures. This invention will be primarily discussed in its application to a ring and a bracelet, each utilizing a removable, ornated face, insert or stone which may be replaced by a face, insert or stone of another suitable design or color.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a piece of jewelry having a frame or mounting which has an opening therein, a removable insert received in said opening, and spring retainer means in said frame for holding the insert in an assembled position, said insert being readily removable from the frame by applying slight finger pressure to the insert so as to disengage the spring retainer means from the frame and permit the insert to be removed.

It is another object of the invention to provide a piece of jewelry having a frame or mounting which has an opening therein and which provides an inwardly extending flange portion, a removable insert received in said opening and having a complementary extending flange portion for engaging the inwardly extending flange portion of the frame, and spring retainer means for holding the flange portions in an engaged position, said insert being readily removed from the frame by applying slight finger pressure to the top of the insert so as to disengage the spring retainer means from the frame and permit the insert to be removed.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a finger ring having a frame or mounting which has an opening therein and which provides an inwardly extending flange portion, a removable insert received in said opening and having a complementary outwardly extending flange portion for engaging the inwardly extending flange portion of the frame, and spring retainer means for holding the flange portions in engaged position, said insert being readily removed from the frame by applying slight finger pressure to the top of the insert so as to disengage the spring retainer means from the frame and permit the insert to be removed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a finger ring having a frame with an opening therein, said frame providing an inwardly extending flange portion, groove means on the inner periphery of the frame, a removable insert received in said opening and having a complementary outwardly extending flange portion which engages the inwardly extending flange portion of the ring frame, and spring retainer means located in said groove means so as to hold the flange portions in an assembled position, said insert being readily removable from the frame by applying slight finger pressure to the top part of the insert so as to cam the spring retainer means in engagement with said groove means, thereby permitting the insert to be easily removed.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a finger ring having an opening therein which provides an inwardly extending flange portion, a pair of vertical semi-circular grooves on the inner periphery of the frame adjacent to said opening, a removable insert received in said opening and having a complementary outwardly extending flange portion for engaging said inwardly extending flange portion, a spring retainer box having a base atent portion curved to coincide with the curvature of the inner periphery of the ring finger opening, and a resilient spring carried by said box, said spring having portions thereof riding in said grooves so as to hold said insert in an assembled position, said insert being readily removable from the flame by applying slight finger pressure to the top of the insert so as to cam the spring portions out of said grooves thereby permitting the spring and its retainer box and the insert to be readily removed from the frame.

Another object of this invention is to provide a simplified, lowcost piece of jewelry, for example, such as a ring, having certain advantages contributing to efficiency, reliability, long life as well as to ease of assembly and disassembly.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of the finger ring.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the finger ring.

FIGURE 3 is a top view of the invention. 1

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 44,

FIGURE 3, which shows the essential parts of the invention.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5, FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 66,

FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view showing finger pressure applied to the top of the insert so as to remove the insert from the frame, and further showing finger pressure applied to the bottom of the spring retainer box so as to assemble the insert in the frame.

FIGURE 8 is a top view of the invention as applied to a bracelet.

The drawing shows a finger ring 10 having a frame 12 and a finger hole 14. The top or upper portion 16 of the frame 12 has a rectangular opening 18 therein so as to provide an inwardly extending flange portion 20. A pair of vertical semi-circular grooves 22 are provided in the upper portion 16 for a purpose to be hereinafter explained.

A rectangular stone or insert 24 having a complementary outwardly extending flange portion 26 is inserted in the opening 18 so that its flange portion 26 engages the flange portion 20 of the frame 12 when in an assembled position. Both the flange portions 20 and 26 are retained in an assembled position by spring retainer means 28 which include a retainer box 30 as shown in FIGURES 4-6, the bottom portion of which is curved to coincide with the curvature of the finger opening 14 and a resilient cloverleaf type of spring 32. The rectangular-shaped retainer box 30 has a pair of side flanges 34 each having an opening 36 therethrough. The spring 32 is bent so as to provide a pair of laterally projecting side portions 38 which extend through the openings 36 provided in the retainer box 30 to engage the camming surfaces 22, as best illustrated in FIGURE 6. The pair of spring ends 40 engages the inner periphery of the flanges 34 as is shown in FIGURE 6.

The prior art shows that it is old to utilize a removable insert in a ring wherein a spring is utilized to hold the insert in place in the frame of the ring. However, the insert could only be removed by utilizing a separate tool, such as a pair of pliers or the like, to remove the spring. This invention has overcome the problem of having to utilize a separate tool to remove the spring and insert by utilizing spring retainer means immediately below the assembled insert so that when it is desired to remove the insert all that is required is that slight finger pressure be applied to the top of the insert to disengage the spring retainer means from the frame and permit the insert to be easily removed.

Shoulder 42 is provided in the frame 12 When assembling the insert 24, the spring portions 38 are held inwardly so as to permit the entire spring retainer means 28 including the spring 32 to clear the shoulder 42. After the box 30 and spring 32 have cleared the shoulder 42 the spring portions 38 are permitted to move radially outwardly to engage the groove or camming means 22, as is shown in FIGURE 6. The continued upward force applied to the curved portion of the box 30, as shown by the dotted arrow in FIGURE 7, will move the box 35, and spring 32 to the position shown in FIGURE 4 wherein the spring portions 38 are at the center axis of the grooves 2 'When it is desired to remove or to replace the insert 24, finger pressure is applied to the top of the insert 24 as is shown by the solid arrow in FIGURE 7. The resulting force is translated through the spring retainer means 23 so that the frame or top portion 16, through the groove means 22, exert an inward force to the spring portion 38 so as to cam said portions 38 inwardly to the position shown'in FIGURE 7. Portions 38 must be moved in wardly so that the entire spring retainer means 28 clear the shoulder 42. After the insert 24 has been removed, a new insert is replaced in the top portion 16 of the frame "12 and the spring retainer means 28 inserted in the frame 12 in a manner previously described.

Although this invention has been described in the specification to a finger ring, it should be understood that it has other applications in the jewelryindustry including its application to a bracelet 44 as is shown in FIGURE 8.

The bracelet 44 includes a frame 46 having a pair of links 48 and 50 secured thereto by appropriate fastening means. Frame 46 includes an insert 52 which is retained in the frame .46 in thesame manner as described for the ring with the exception that the bottom portion of the spring retainer means is generally flat rather than curved. Other applications include earrings, belts, pins, cuff links, tie clips, etc.

The drawing and the foregoing specification constitute a description of the improved jewelry having a resiliently biased removable insert in such full, clear, concise and exactterms as to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, the scope of which is indicated by the appended claim.

What I claim as my invention is:

An article of jewelry comprising a body having 9. rectangular passage therethrough between spaced inner and outer surfaces'thereof, said body having an integral annular flange at the outer end of and extending into said passage to provide an annular inwardly facing shoulder, a removable insert in said passage of a size to fit within said flange and having an integral laterally outwardly extending flange engageable with said shoulder to limit the outward movement of said insert and thereby locate said insert in predetermined assembled relation with said body, a pair of opposed, confronting, elongated camming grooves respectively formed in two opposed walls of said passage at the inner side of said shoulder, said grooves extending parallel to said shoulder and being of semi-circular cross section throughout their longitudinal extent, all longitudinal sections of said grooves being arcuate so that said grooves are of maximum depth at the midpoint in their lengths and of gradually diminishing depth toward both ends and at such ends intersect the surfaces of said two opposed walls of said passage, a removable spring retainer assembly located entirely within said passage at the inner side of said shouder and the flange of said insert, said assembly comprising a rectangular box having a solid bottom wall flush with the inner surface of said body closing the inner side of said passage and having side walls dimensioned to fit snugly within the walls of said passage, the opposed walls of said box fitting within the aforesaid two opposed walls of said passage being formed with elongated slots parallel to and registering with the midpoints of said respective grooves, the outer edges of the walls of said box engaging the inner side of the flange of said insert to hold said insert in the aforesaid assembled relation with said body, said spring retaining assembly also comprising a flexible spring in the form of an elongated geuerally U-shaped resilient wire, said wire being disposed within said box and having spaced arcuate portions in the legs of the U projecting through and engaging the ends of said slots and engaging said grooves at their midpoints to impose an outward bias on said box, said insert being readily removable from said body by the application of finger pressure to the outer surface of said insert to move said insert and said spring retainer assembly in an inward direction away from said shoulder thereby camming the aforesaid arcuate portions of said resilient wire toward each other and out of said grooves so that said spring retainer assembly and said insert may be removed from said body, the ends of said wire being spaced sufiiciently to permit the aforesaid camming of said arcuate portions of said wire toward each other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 733,029 Gosling July 7, 1903 1,182,534 Driggott May 9, 1916 1,305,233 Ogden May 27, 1919 1,712,171 Rochas May 7, 1929 

